Taimane (courtesy of the Omni Foundation)
Last night in Herbst Theatre, the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts launched its 2023/2024 Dynamite Guitars series of concerts. However, the only guitarist on stage was Tehila, providing backup for ukulele virtuoso Taimane (whose full name is Taimane Gardner). Her backup also included Stefie Dominguez on cajon; and, not long into her program, she was joined by cellist Jacob Staron. (Like Taimane and Tehila, he was standing, relying on a series of supporting straps that gave him full control of his instrument.)
In the preview article I wrote about a month ago, I cited the Honolulu Star Advertiser’s declaration of Taimane as the “empress of the ukulele.” He command of what is usually taken as a modest (if not recreational) instrument may, indeed, be considered “imperial;” but her disposition as a performer was never anything short of a rock star, following all the usual tropes of patter to keep her audience engaged between the selections she performed. Who knew that such a “light instrument” could stand up to the intensity of any heavy metal band?
Mind you, her raucous rock style was not my favorite cup of tea. However, prior to last night, my only impressions of the ukulele came from Arthur Godfrey, who was square unto an extreme when “popular” music was beginning to be displaced by the transition from down-and-dirty blues to emergence of the rock genre. Nevertheless, even when Taimane’s on-stage antics were at their wildest, there was no distracting my rapt attention to the flood of raucous details coming out of her little instrument (endowed with amplification that would definitely hold up in front of any heavy metal group).
Still, there was only so much my eardrums could take. Impressed as I was, when the time came for intermission, I felt that I had taken in my fill. My ears were still ringing as I walked back home!
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